35 Facts About Tonje Brenna

Tonje Brenna was born on 21 October 1987 and is a Norwegian politician currently serving as the Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion since 2023.

Tonje Brenna was formerly in a relationship with fellow party member Martin Henriksen.

Tonje Brenna married Vetle Larsen in the summer of 2022, with whom she has one son.

In December 2024, Tonje Brenna revealed that she was in a relationship with Swedish carpenter Simon Jensen, whom she had met while visiting Stockholm.

Tonje Brenna was the General Secretary of the Workers' Youth League from 2010 to 2012.

Tonje Brenna was responsible for taking care of loved ones, victims and survivors during the aftermath of the attack.

Tonje Brenna was a member of the Akershus county council from 2007 to 2019, and from 2020 a member of the county council of Viken.

Tonje Brenna chaired the county cabinet of Viken from 2020 to 2021.

Tonje Brenna was a political advisor at the Office of the Prime Minister from 2012 to 2013.

Tonje Brenna was a political advisor to minister of justice Grete Faremo from May to October 2013.

Tonje Brenna expressed that the Solberg Cabinet's early re-instalment of school absence rules were wrong.

Tonje Brenna promised to be back with a better solution as soon as possible, saying that rules had to be understandable for both teachers and students and to be experienced as sensible.

Tonje Brenna said she understood the dilemma for students, and noted that they would have to get an approved leave of absence, to for example go to a doctor's appointment or similar.

Tonje Brenna said that the government wanted to strengthen public schools and wanted to stop the previous government's privatisation of schools.

Tonje Brenna stressed that upper secondary schools should advise students better and to inform them of their choices when it comes to higher education.

Tonje Brenna did however add that private education isn't necessarily bad, and serves as "a safety valve" for those who don't have other options.

Tonje Brenna announced that municipalities should prioritise vaccinating kindergarten and school staff once the vaccination of a third vaccine dose commences.

Tonje Brenna did however stress that it wasn't an indication for students to take it easy, and encouraged them to work hard going forward.

Tonje Brenna clarified that tests still would be utilised, but needs to be viewed with "fresh eyes", in addition to there being less tests.

Tonje Brenna stated: "Before the summer, I commissioned the Directorate of Education to assess how we can get better information about absences from school, and whether there is a need to introduce other measures to help students who are absent a lot".

Tonje Brenna added that absences would be a part of a Storting message focusing on the well-being and motivation of fifth to tenth graders.

Tonje Brenna stated that it's up to the municipalities to determine the school schedule, and that the entire school schedule should be utilised.

Tonje Brenna asserted that it was "traditional" to utilise school facilities to different sort of activities.

Tonje Brenna expressed concerns for grades being handed out in order to draw in more students.

The opposition parties however opposed the idea, noting that such a function already was in place in the act, and that Tonje Brenna seemed to forget about students entirely.

Tonje Brenna argued that the municipalities needed good strategies and routines in order to follow up on the matter.

Tonje Brenna admitted to not having considered her impartiality, and reported the matter to the Storting's Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs and asked for an interim minister to assume her duties while the matter is being investigated.

On 16 October 2023, Tonje Brenna was appointed minister of labour and social inclusion in a cabinet reshuffle.

Tonje Brenna cited that the reform would make more available workforce, provide the state with more taxes and lift the burden for future generations.

Tonje Brenna praised the agreement and the bipartisan consensus for it, calling it "historical" and that it displayed the possibility of reaching a wide bipartisan agreement to improve the retirement system.

Tonje Brenna announced that a compulsory wage arbitration would be imposed on the strike conducted by the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations when they threatened to take employees at the National Security Authority on strike as a major escalation of the strike.

Tonje Brenna reasoned that a report from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security expressed concerns for the strike's effect on the police, as the reason for the compulsory wage arbitration.

Tonje Brenna expressed her support for the legislation, but said that the government couldn't guarantee when compensation would be given.

Tonje Brenna argued that these measures would strengthen the agency's ability to prevent workplace crime.

Tonje Brenna's proposals received support from parties across the political spectrum from notably the Conservatives, Socialist Left and Red parties.